Last of a Dying Breed
by hybrid-interpreter
Summary: The last of her kind, Alita searches for the father that abandoned her, seeking answers she doesn't have. Maybe her journey will cool her hate of the beorc enough to speak with her father civilly. Maybe the attention of a certain bird will change that hate around. TibarnxOC
1. To Charter a Ship

A/N: Hello everyone~ I decided to start uploading this story while working on the other, get the creative juices flowing. It was something I had up on Quizilla when that was still a thing, but now it's been revamped a bit. Hope you enjoy the beginning.

Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Fire Emblem

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Laughter follows Alita out of the tavern, cutting off only when the door slams behind her. Another attempt to find a boat, one she can take, one she can hitch a ride on, has come to a grinding halt. No one wanted to sell her one. No one wanted to charter one out to her, especially if it was just her. Apparently no one was willing to help her, and it was frustrating. She had been in this port for the past week and a half, dealing with _beorc_ of all things. She despises them with a fierce passion, for what they did to her mother, for what they did to her, and for how her father abandoned her and her mother. The mere thought curls her lip in a snarl, which she hides behind the mask she pulls up.

Taking note of the sudden commotion, Alita spots several townsmen running toward the east side of town. They haven't been this riled up since she has been here. Curiosity getting the better of her, Alita silently follows. As she rounds the corner of one of the houses a larger group of townsmen are surrounding a figure. At first Alita believes it is just some form of public humiliation to one of their own. That is until she noticed the cat ears the victim was sporting. _A laguz!_

Immediately anger bubbles up in Alita. The injustice of it makes her seethe. They are people too, just with a disposition towards the animal kingdom. Clenching her fists she steps forward, intent on showing these _humans_ what it's like to be treated as an inferior race. Before she can even get close to lay a hand on one of the townsmen, someone is already there. Alita blinks in surprise as a blue haired beorc helps the cat. _But why does he help?_ She can't fathom the reason, all her life having learned that the beorc hate the laguz. Even the townspeople are surprised.

Before she can confront the man to try to understand what she just saw, soldiers swarm the town. Alita can count six of them from where she is hidden, but she knows there are more. There always is. Judging by the color and style of the armor some of the soldiers are wearing, she believe them to be from Daein. _They must have been pursuing that beorc group..._ Alita turns away from the beginning fight, taking the opportunity to loot some of the houses.

All the items that she collects are useless to her, but she keeps them anyway to sell later on. When she goes to enter one of the houses she hasn't yet searched, she collides with someone coming out. Taking a stumbling step back to regain her balance, Alita looks at the offender. He has dark robes, a stange mark on his forehead and is holding a book. Her skin prickles with the realization of him being a magic user. He took one look before flipping his book open and blasting away. It ended up being wind magic, slowing Alita down just enough that she acquired serveral cuts before being able to dodge. Growling to herself she dodged the next attack, working her way closer to him. Grudgingly she admitted that he was pretty good, considering the other magic users she fought didn't last very long.

The skirmish had only been going on for a few minutes when Alita heard a far off order, recognizing the tide of the battle changing. Picking up her pace, Alita makes it harder for the magic user to keep up. His attacks missing her, hitting areas that she had already vacated by the time he fired. Suddenly appearing in front of him, Alita slashes upward with her knife. His reflexes are quicker than she thought, her knife opening a line across his face instead of splitting his head as he pulls back. Following her upward momentum she jumps and twists over him. In the process she has her other knife out, cutting his book in two. She smirks in triumph as she renders him defenseless, tucking one knife away.

The magic user gives Alita a long suffering look, a slow smirk forming across his lips. Alita frowns behind her mask as she watches him, warry of the sudden change in demeanor. He drops the pieces of the split book, it being useless to him now, then pulls another book from his robes. The book he pulls out is a reddish color, indicating it as Fire. _A mage!_

Alita knows when it's time to retreat, wisely doing so now by turning around and running. The fire attack roars after her, inciting a burst of speed from her when she feels the heat against her back. It scorches the earth at her heels, the flames licking at her then dying out. Alita keeps running, not daring to look back or slow down on the off chance that the mage decided to pursue.

Upon rounding the corner of another house, Alita winds up slamming into a wall of flesh. She realizes it's a horse as soon as it whinnies, rearing in alarm. The sudden motion knocks the rider off with an exclamation. Alita takes a step away from the horse only to have the wind knocked out of her as she is tackled to the ground and pinned, groaning when her head slaps the earth.

"Kieran...Why are you on the ground?" A voice calls from behind the knight that is pinning Alita to the ground. Kieran, never taking his eyes or grip from Alita, grunts out a reply. "What do you want Oscar? I'm merely stopping a thief is all." "Oh is that all?" Oscar hums. Alita scowls at Kieran, then glances over at the man called Oscar when she's able to see straight. She's able to discern that he is also a knight, if his armor and the horse he's on is anything to go by, hissing when Kieran yanks her up. He has her arms behind her back, cinching a rope around them to tie them there. "Yes! He stole my stuff and I intend to get it back!" Kieran drags Alita to his horse that hadn't wandered off.

Alita twists her wrists as she gets pulled along, testing the strength of the tie and judging how much room she has. Taking her chance, she turns into Kieran, breaking his grip on her arm and drops into a squat. Her leg is already extending, tripping him up on the rotation as she leans on her back, pulling her arms underneath her so they are now in front. Immediately Alita is on her feet and running, not giving Kieran or Oscar the chance to catch her again.

Having lost one of her knives from the run in with Kieran, Alita takes out another, sawing at the rope between her wrists as she runs. She hears a shout from behind her accompanied with the clatter of hooves. She saws away quicker, knowing it's only a matter of the time before the horses catch up. Alita just managed to cut through the rope and tuck her knife away before she is picked up by the back of her neck. She twists and turns, growling when the grip doesn't weaken and loathing the fact that her laguz powers are non-existent.

"Mordecai, thank you. He was trying to get away from Kieran" the voice of Oscar explains.

"And what is a young one like you doing?" Mordecai directs softly towards Alita, still holding her up by the back of her neck. Alita refuses to answer, eyes narrowing in the direction she had planned to escape, teeth grinding to hear Kieran. "I say we take him to the Commander and let him deal with it."

Alita is carried off to an inn that is situated just outside the docking area. When they enter, she notices the mage and blue haired boy from before, as well as the laguz that he had saved. In addition to those three, there are two others that Alita recognizes as laguz. The first is a girl with orange tail and ears, the second is a man with very light blue hair, like that of ice just beginning to show color, draped over his shoulder. He has pointed ears, which is the only visible feature that marks him as a laguz. Alita senses it though, and is surprised once again when she is set carefully down, finding that Mordecail is a laguz as well. That's four of them among this group of beorc, causing Alita to question her beliefs, even if only slightly.

"There you all are. I've been wondering where you went" the blue haired beorc speaks towards the group that just arrived. "Who is this?" "He's a thief who tried to steal from me!" Kieran exclaims as he grabs Alita, dragging her to the center of the room. She bristles at his touch, snatching her arm away, crossing it in front of her as she speaks for the first time to defend herself. "I wasn't trying to steal anything from him. My pack is full. I was _trying_ to run away from _him_." Alita snarls pointing at the mage, hating having to explain anything to the beorc.

The blue haired boy turn to the mage, eyebrow raised. "Soren, where you fighting this thief?" The mage, Soren, looks over at Alita and shrugs. "He was the one that destroyed my Wind" he admits. Alita suddenly has everyone's attention, returning it with a glare of her own as she takes note of possible escape routes.

Out of the blue, the Commander asks "Would you care to join our group? Your skills would be invaluable" Alita scoffs. "No. I only want a ship" comes her clipped reply, retreating into a frosty silence. "Well, you can come on our ship if you return what was stolen." Alita's eyes flash in fury as the beorc boy refuses to listen. "I already told you, I didn't steal anything from him!" She throws her pack on the table, it clunking in the middle of what the beorc had been planning. "Look for yourself."

Alita watches them and waits. They look at her bag, consider it, but no one bothers to touch it or open it. Alita scowls at them from behind her mask, stalking over to her pack and opens it, dumping the contents out. She takes the magic book, tossing it across the table at the mage, shoving the rest of it in the middle. Kieran comes forward, inspecting the items thoroughly to ensure nothing is his before backing away with a frown. The commander looks from the pile of equipment, money loss in Alita's eyes, to Alita.

"Consider it payment for my coming along" she bites out, stalking out of the inn.


	2. To Join the Ravens

A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for checking out the first part. Here is the second installment. I hope it keeps you interested!

Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Fire Emblem.

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For the first week of the voyage, Alita kept to herself. She ignored everyone, avoiding the beorc in particular. Even if she was ignoring everyone, she was always listening. She learned who everyone was and that they were heading to the country Begnion to gather support. They talked about bird laguz occupying islands that the ship will pass, that the hawks seek out Begnion merchant ships to loot and that the ravens raid indiscriminately. Alita stored that information away, believing that she might get answers from the birds if she joined them.

The next week, Alita still approached no one. Instead, Mordecai and Lethe, the girl with the cat features, came to Alita. They found her at the bow of the ship, staring out over the vast expanse of water the ship is currently cutting through. She turns to face them, waiting for them to speak first. She assumes that they sensed her laguz heritage and that is what brought them over. They stare at her for a moment before Mordecai steps forward, "I am Mordecai. This is Lethe" he begins by introducing. Alita looks between them, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Well?" Lethe demands, getting impatient with the silence. "Lethe...come now..." Mordecai attempts to soothe. Alita watches, then sighs to herself. Laguz take care of their own, so these two should be trustworthy. "Alita" she answers, gaining the attention of the two. "Alita? But that's a girls name" Lethe points out. Alita raises an eyebrow, "So?" "So aren't you a guy?"

To answer, Alita pulls her mask down to show them her face with its softer features. Mordecai nods as if he already knew earning a scathing look from Lethe. Alita pulls her mask back up to keep the beorc from finding out. "Don't tell anyone. It's easier to accomplish things as a guy." Lethe nods in agreement, "Alright, we will keep your identity cloaked." After they had come to an agreement, Mordecai and Lethe took a seat with Alita and began to talk. They conversed about anything and everything they deemed worthy of their time. Alita finally relaxed a little since joining the odd company, and possibly even made friends.

Another week passes with the ship circling around the southwest shores of the continent. There are a couple of islands off the coast of Goldoa that the captain has decided to sail through instead of around. By hugging the coast of the country and threading that waterway between the landmasses, it will cut off several days from the journey. There is a minor skirmish with some ravens when the ship gets caught on some reefs, and Alita takes the opportunity to study them. They weren't that strong because they were defeated, but their presence let Alita know there would be others. She was proven right when they came upon two ships, one from Begnion being besieged by the others. Alita listens in as a group of winged knights seek help from Ike, humming in thought as she begins surveying the battle area.

The ship Ike has agreed to help is off the port beam, a plank connecting it to the ship Alita is currently on. She can see there are at least five soldiers grouped in the middle of the deck, all appear to be beorc and must be the people the winged knights needed help protecting. Alita dismisses them for the time being and looks beyond. The second ship is boxing the first in and it has three planks connecting the two together. On it there are a multitude of soldiers with varying weaponry, but it's the figures flying nearby that capture Alita's interest. Finding her goal she begins sneaking her way through the chaos of the fight, making her way onto the enemy ship.

She manages to make it past the weaker soldiers, they being more preoccupied with other matters, only to be grabbed by the sniper that was waiting nearby. Growling in response, Alita turns into the man bashing her forehead into his nose. He yells at the pain, instantly letting her go to grab at his face and backs away. Alita takes this time to run to the rail, shouting at the birds hovering she had spotted earlier. "Hey! Birds! I need your help!"

They both look over, the younger of the two answering. "Why should we help you? You're nothing to us!" Alita scowls at the bird, thinking fast. "In return for information, I'll serve you!" She just barely gets the words out of her mouth before she is grabbed again and yanked from the rail. Grunting in surprise as she's pulled back, Alita realizes it's the sniper again. He manages to get a good hit in to her ribs before shes dancing away, pulling out a knife and slashing him across his arm. he sneers, backing away enough to get proper range with his bow. Alita dodges the first arrow, hearing the whistle of its passing as it flies by her head. As he readies another arrow, his soldiers begin swarming to support him. Making a hasty retreat, Alita tucks the knife away again as she vaults over the railing into the waters below.

Alita surfaces several feet away from the ship, swimming against the current to make it to the patch of land near the birds. Pulling herself up, she comes face to face with the younger bird she was negotiating with. "You say you will serve me?" He asks, lips stretching into a smirk. "Only if I get the information I need" Alita jabs back. He watches her for a moment then chuckles. "Agreed. King Kilvas" he introduces. Alita raises an eyebrow at him. "Kilvas is a rather strange name"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand boy" he snorts and shakes his head in mock pity. "Such a stupid beorc." Rage rises in Alita, blinding her before she can stop herself. She has pounced on the king, knocking him to his back and has a knife to his throat. "Who are you calling a beorc! I am _not_ one of those filthy murderers and don't you _dare_ associate me with them like that!"

"Oh ho~" the king smirks at Alita's outburst, turning the tables and pins her beneath him. "I like your fire boy, but you would do well not to threaten your new king and benefactor" he whispers dangerously before letting her go, brushing his clothes off. "Judging from your outburst, I can only assume that you are a laguz, but what kind I wonder?" he looks at her, waiting for an answer. Alita, properly mollified, regains her composure once she has taken the time to brush herself off. "I'd rather not speak of myself where others can here. You never know what they might derive from what is being said." The king looks at her with arms crossed. "No one is here but ourselves."

Alita frowns and tilts her head, sure she wasn't imagining things. She waits a moment, listening and sensing as far as she can. "There are three birds that way" Alita finally states, pointing in the direction the ships had come from. The king stares off in that direction, eyebrows drawn together as he thinks. "I believe it is time to leave. But first," his attention is redirected towards Alita, "I want you to go and fetch me their merchandise. Their familiarity with you will give you a greater chance of succeeding."

Rather than try to argue with him, Alita dives back into the water and swims to the ship. Since her first dive, she is sure that the soldiers have all but forgotten about her, or are too dead to remember anyway. In order to climb back aboard, Alita has to swim towards the stern of the boat where the small dinghy hangs. Luck finds her in the way of a dangling rope, one that must have come uncoiled in the clash. Standing on a piece of the rudder, Alita jumps for the rope. Her grip tightens around it, stopping her downward slide of a few feet. She pulls herself up by just her arm strength until there is enough rope below her to wrap her feet in. Now she is able to worm her way up and over into the dinghy.

Pausing to catch her breath, Alita scans back over the deck of the enemy ship. She spots three chests, all still closed. Quickly she departs the dinghy, running across the deck to the chests. She opens all three of them, taking their items, before turning her attention to the middle ship. The fighting is still waging, but that will just offer cover for Alita. She crosses the plank closest to the bow and opens the two chests up forward first. Next, keeping her shoulder to the rail, she heads aft for the final two chests. The first she opens easily enough, stowing the item away in her pack, then seeks the final chest.

"Hey! What are you doing!" A large man in blue armor yells. Alita identifies him as a knight and prepares herself as he points his lance at her. A raven intervenes before he can do anything, giving Alita time to make it to the last chest. As soon as she opens it, pain blossoms in her shoulder. Alita looks up to see a boy with light green hair and girl on horseback, both holding bows. Snarling, Alita pulls the shaft out while collecting the item from the chest. Knife at the ready, she runs for the girl since she sort of knew the boy.

Alita is blocked by the blue knight who thrusts his lance at her. She side steps just in time then drops to her knees to slide between the knights legs. Before he can recover, she has slashed the backs of his legs, dropping him to his knees with a roar of pain. Once he's down, Alita jumping at the girl on horseback, knocking her bow aside in the process of cutting her across her stomach. The girl's yell of pain and Alita's light brush against its neck has the horse rearing with a whinny.

The horse draws the attention of the boys brother, who witnesses Alita's cut across his back when she lands from her jump over the horse. The brother is already charging and has his axe raised. Alita meets him, slashing upwards across his wrist. He howls in pain, axe slipping from a useless grip and holds the bleeding appendage with his functioning hand. In her haste to cut him, Alita fails to move as the axe comes down. It scrapes along her calf before thudding to the deck, eliciting a cry from Alita.

Panting lightly at the burning pain in her leg, Alita takes stock of the situation quickly. Most of the enemies have been dispatched and everyone was regrouping in the middle ship. Before long their focus was going to turn to her, and she had no intention of staying. Quickly, Alita wound her way back to the railing of the ship, pushing herself over the side. She begins swimming to the outcropping of land from before, hampered by a full pack, a damaged leg and injured shoulder. The salt of the water stings her open wounds, but she figures it will help the cleaning process. Even if there is that benefit, the wounds are constantly leaking blood, and Alita has no idea what sorts of creatures it might attract.

Her worries of the deep are soon forgotten when she begins to feel tingly all over. She realizes that it's electricity, and scowls at the magic users. She keeps swimming, figuring they are using the water to get the magic to travel farther, however her mothers ring protects against some magic so the effects have been dampened. She only gets a few more feet before she feels what water and electricity can do. _Elthunder..._ Alita grits her teeth at the shock, dragging herself up the rock to slump down in front of the king. "Looks like you're a decent thief after all." Alita groans in response, blacking out right at his feet.


	3. To Serve and Betray

A/N: Thank you to Quicksilver915 for the reviews! I appreciate them. And I hope everyone continues to enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Fire Emblem.

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Alita cracks her eyes open as the sun slits through the window, an opening a head wouldn't even fit through. Groaning at the light she throws an arm over her eyes and turns away from the opening. Her movement rustles the straw beneath her, and she takes note of the pallet she's on, just barely off the floor. Frowning in mild confusion Alita rubs her face, almost surprised to find her mask still in place. She licks her lips as she gathers herself, pushing up into a sitting position. The brine she tastes brings back the memory of the battle and her swim to the outcropping of land to join the ravens.

Remembrance brings on another slew of questions she can't answer. She doesn't know where she is, though her assumption is with in the stronghold of the ravens. She doesn't know how long she has been out, and glancing at the window again gives her no answers. The hollowness in her stomach, however, suggests several days. She plans to go out and explore, get her bearings and learn about where she's at. She doesn't want to rely on the ravens for long, and her ploy of serving them will only hold for so long before they realize her trickery.

Her plans are paused as the wooden door creaks open admitting an old raven carrying a tray of food. He's the one that was with the king when she turned to them for help. He sets the tray on the pallet next to Alita, giving her a wizened smile. "Eat. Otherwise you won't have strength to begin your duties." Automatically Alita replies, "I serve no one." The elder smiles in a placating way, shaking his head at the fire of the young one.

Alita watches the elder momentarily, wondering why he is staying but turns to the food to fill the void that's eating at her. It's simple fare of bread and cheese, enough to be filling and easy on the stomach after the lack of nutrients. While eating, two more people enter Alitas chamber. The first is the king, who Alita dismisses as she studies the second person. He's garbed all in white with matching wings and very fair hair. Alita wonders who he is, and why someone so pure would be with the King of taint.

"Look who decides to grace me with his presence." Alita snarks around a mouthful of food. The king dismisses the elder, giving Alita time to finish off the rest of her meal before leveling her with his gaze. "I don't appreciate snide remarks from a servant, boy! So I expect better from now on."

Alita draws her legs up onto the pallet, leaning against the stone behind her and stares right back at him. "For your information, King Kilvas, I am not yet your servant seeing as I don't have any information."

"Naesala, why did you bring me here? You know how I feel about beorc" the stranger speaks, crossing his arms. Alita immediately bristles, preparing herself to attack the man. She should have checked for her weapons before, but she'll make do with her fists if she has to. He doesn't look much like a fighter anyway.

"Now, now Reyson. Lets not upset the guest~" Naesala placates mockingly. Both Alita and Reyson give him a glare which he ignores, turning his attention to Alita with a smile, still mocking. "Here is what I'll do, since I'm feeling generous today. I will answer three questions. Think carefully on what you want to ask," he warns before continuing. "You will then begin your duties here. Based on your performance, I will answer more questions, or even give you access to our records. You are in my territory now boy, so I suggest you follow the rules."

Alita gnashes her teeth together. She should have seen something like this coming after what she had heard about the crows. No matter. She will do the minimum required of her and then start planning her escape. "Fine." she grunts, drumming her fingers on her knee. Starting off simple, and wanting to clarify what she knows, she asks "What kind of laguz are there?"

"Why, there are dragons, birds, and beasts."

"That's not what I meant!" Alita fumes. She knows there are dragons, birds and beasts. Lethe and Mordecai are part of the beast tribe and obviously she is talking to two kinds of birds. Naesala chuckles and smirks. "If you want something specific your questions have to be specific~"

Alita growls at him. He knew what she meant yet he intentionally wasted one of her questions. "Fine. What are the specific species of laguz with in those three groups?" she bites out.

"Ah, well the dragons are just dragons" he hums as if thinking. "Among the beasts there are lions, tigers, and cats. And the birds include hawks, ravens and herons."

Alita takes a moment to mull over the information. She is surprised to hear about lions, and wonders if they are the royalty of the beasts. They would have to be big, which reminds her of Mordecai. He is a large man...but she is not sure. Her assessment of Lethe being a cat is probably correct though. She knew there where hawks and ravens based on what the beorc where talking about. She didn't know there were heron though, and she concludes the Reyson is most likely a heron. So far she has felt the most comfortable around the birds, no matter how despicable the ravens currently are, and thinks she might be a bird laguz. Which one is another matter.

"You have one more question." Naesala breaks her train of thought.

Alita thinks hard on this one, wanting to get the most information out of one question and have it worded just right for that effect. "Have the bird laguz lived anywhere else than where they currently are?" she finally asks, clicking her tongue slightly at herself to realize she opened it up to a simple one word answer. "No. Except for the herons who were displaced from their home for a time. Your questions have been answered. I will send someone to show you where you will begin your work. Have fun." He smirks before ushering Reyson out, leaving Alita alone to her thoughts.

True to his words, Alita was immediately put to work. She started off with the most disgusting job possible, that of emptying all the chamber pots. It was easy enough on the ground floor, but she soon learned that there were no stairwells in Kilvas. Everything was connected by large tunnels placed strategically throughout the palace. To get to the higher floors, one would have to fly. Alita had to learn to climb up an almost smooth surface to reach those floors. And since the ravens used the night-soil for a fertilizer, she would have to bring that back down. On multiple occasions she had fallen with the contents drenching her, or simply spilled those contents on her. It infuriated her, since now not only did she have to continue her collection, but she had to clean her mess up and herself.

Her next job was in the kitchens, cleaning all of the dishes, all of the time. There was an endless amount of dishes since hey never stopped cooking, except for maybe a few hours in the dead of night. She did get breaks, which she used to her advantage to explore. She found several storage rooms containing a multitude of items. Some where essential for the running of the country, and others looked to be loot from raiding parties. She found a pool of water with in the palace that led to the depths beneath the island. It took Alita several trips in that pool to find an air pocket, and from there she was able to continue all the way to a small cave that opened up to the surf crashing against the island. She had found a way out!

She continued to explore the cave and water tunnel, the tides as the surf came in, what was outside the cave and what direction she was facing. She had managed to memorize the layout of the tunnel when on her next day of exploration she found the library. Since Naesala had been less than helpful, she poured through the books, learning more than she ever thought she would. She read as much as she could at once before having to return to the kitchens, resuming where she left off on the next break.

After having served in the castle for about a month, Alita is ready to make her escape. She had come across a book that was ancient, probably from Naesala's grandfather's time. It was leather-bound with faded gold lettering, pages yellow and browning with age, and the faded script was in a flowing writing that Alita could just barely make out parts to. She realized that this book is probably what she had been looking for the whole time, and needed time to study it or find someone who could read it. She spirited the book away to the room with the water pool, keeping it hidden and wrapped in a cloth.

Next she visited the storage rooms she had found previously. She looked for a bag to replace her own and one that would be waterproof. It took a couple of tries and test runs before she finally found one that would work. Then she searched for her weapons. She never found hers, but she did find a nice knife that would be a good substitute. The knife was placed with the book and the bag in the water pool room.

In the dead of night, when the kitchens weren't occupied, Alita snuck in, heading for the cupboards. She takes a loaf of bread, a block of cheese and a few pieces of fruit. Placing these items in a cloth and wrapping them up, Alita hurries to the water pool. Once there she tucks her food and the book in the bag, tieing it closed in multiple ways to ensure maximum protection. The knife she straps to her thigh, then dons the pack and dives into the pool. It's easy enough swimming through the dark, her memorization of the tunnel coming in handy, and she makes it to the cave easily. She takes a moment to catch her breath, listening to the movement of water. If she times it right, the ocean will do most of the work and she can save her energy for the long swim she has ahead.

With a small prayer to the gods Alita dives back into the water, letting it carry her out past the cliffs shores of Kilvas. As soon as she feels the direction of the water begin to change she starts swimming. She is not going to be thrown against those cliffs tonight. The thought pushes her on, giving her strength to fight the pull of the breakers and make it past that particular current and into the open ocean.

Alita grins in triumph, takes a moment to look at the stars in the sky for her bearings, then starts swimming in the direction of the mainland. It's long and hard, but Alita refuses to give in. Her arms and legs start burning from the exertions and still she keeps going. She rests only briefly, enough to get her breath back, before starting again. If she stops too long, she won't want to start again or won't be able to. The water is cool and saps her warmth quicker if she stays immobile. She can't let that happen so she strains her muscles. She doesn't know how long she swims, only knowing that she gets closer to the mainland. Her mind starts to drift from the exhaustion and begins hallucinating. Her body remains on autopilot, once arm over the other, legs scissoring in their kicks. She becomes so unaware of herself that she doesn't react as a wave suddenly breaks over her.

Alita is pushed beneath the water, breathing in in surprise. The water floods her nose and mouth, cutting off any air she might have had. She forces her arms and legs to move, breaking the surface coughing and spluttering and ripping her mask off only to be taken under again. The wave tumbles her head over heels with in its grasp, disorienting her. She doesn't know which was is up, everything around her is dark and her lungs are burning. Desperately Alita swims, scrambling for the surface. She breaks the barrier again, drawing in a deep breath of relief. It's short lived as she is pulled in by another wave and sent crashing into the depths once more.

She is tumbling again but tries to stop it, reaching out. She doesn't expect to find anything, merely slow her circular motion. To her luck, her foot drags against the bottom. It slows her momentum enough to let her plant both feet to spring herself upward. She breaks the surface a third time, taking a breath and quickly looking around. She feels the next wave pulling and starts swimming away from it, knowing land is in that direction. She quickly takes a breath and dives beneath the water just as the wave hits. Instead of tumbling her like before, she is pushed forward. She swims hard with the wave, making it closer to land.

Alita repeats the process three more times before a wave spits her out on a beach. She digs her fingers into the sand, hauling herself further up the beach to where she won't get pulled back out to sea. Finally she collapses, chest heaving at the exertion and her lungs' need for air. She made it. She actually swam all the way from Kilvas! The thought brings a tired smile to her face and a raspy laugh. Who would have thought that she would make off with one of Kilvas' probably sacred books?

The weariness is quick to catch up, her muscles refusing to respond. So Alita lays there, as the sky brightens. She thinks she hears a group of men, but can't be bothered to care at the moment. Instead, she rests her cheek in the sand, closing her eyes for the much needed rest after that arduous journey. She feels like she is floating, cradled and being rocked. That is what she finally succumbs to.


	4. To Become a New Person

A/N: It's been a little while since I updated, but I should be getting back into the swing of things. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Fire Emblem rights, not I.

* * *

The sun streams through the open windows, touching Alita's face and warming it. The heat of the rays brings her out of the dense fog of exhausted sleep enough to hear a bird singing. The moment is peaceful and relaxing, practically urging Alita to return to her dreams. She almost succumbs to the temptation, and instead snaps her eyes open to look around. Surveying her surroundings, Alita finds that she is in a large, decently furnished room with matching pieces. She is currently occupying the large bed, pillows and feather comforters strewn about from her sleep. Sitting up, Alita is able to move out of the ray of the sun, coming from one of the windows with the drapes pulled back. Outside is the view of a town, and across the room through the other window Alita can see a range of mountains.

Staring at the mountains, Alita pushes her mind into gear to figure out where she is. Based on the map she remembers, and where Kilvas is located, she would have to guess Begnion. Yet, she concedes that it's possible the currents of the ocean pushed her farther off course than she realized. She could have washed up anywhere along the Begnion border.

Deciding to find out for herself, Alita throws the covers aside, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed to have her feet melt into the plush carpet of the room. As soon as she stands up, she notices she has been changed into a nightgown and immediately looks around the room for her belongings. She spots them on a chair, then does a quick inspection to make sure everything is accounted for. Everything is, except for her clothes. Frowning harder, Alita searches the room for something to wear other than the nightgown. If she was in Begnion, she needed to leave immediately before one of the beorcs instigated something they would regret.

"Ah you're awake. Are you feeling well?"

Alita turns to the source of the voice to find a young man with cropped hair down to his chin and gentle red eyes in the doorway. She takes note of the style of dress and the partially hidden mark on his forehead returning his smile with a slight quirk of her lips. Alita nods in response to his previous question before asking, "Where am I?"

"You're in the palace. Of Goldoa" the young man clarifies upon seeing the blank look from Alita. She takes a moment to digest the information, wondering just how far off course she swam. "How...did I get here?" Alita hesitantly questions, having been under the assumption that the dragons did not care for visitors.

"One of our patrols found you washed up on the shore at the Begnion border. They brought you back here." He tilts his head in question as he looks at Alita. "What happened to you?"

Alita opens her mouth to answer but pauses. Before she was perceived to be a boy and a thief, but since she ripped her mask off, everyone can tell she is a girl. For that matter, as a girl she wouldn't know anything about her previous activities should she encounter anyone, so he best option is to pretend like she knows nothing.

"I...I'm not sure," she frowns for effect, as if she were trying to recall a memory, "I can't seem to remember anything..."

The boy nods and smiles in reassurance. "No matter, that should come in time. However, my father wishes to speak with you."

Alita nods before glancing down at her attire and grimaces. "Like this?"

"As soon as you woke up."

Sighing, Alita nods and follows the boy out of the room. He leads her down several hallways, where any servants present would stop what they were doing and bow to him as he strode by. Alita watches this, wondering if he might be royalty. And then if that was so, that would mean his father is royalty...probably the king.

The king.

The king of _dragons!_

"Don't worry, my father isn't a terrible person. Sometimes he can be pretty blunt though" the boy fills the silence, as if sensing Alita's inner turmoil over meeting the Dragon King. "Your father is the king then?"

"Ah, yes forgive me. My name is Kurthnaga, prince of Goldoa. My father is King Dheginsea. I'm sorry I didn't properly introduce myself before." He gives a little laugh turning a corner and heads over to two very large doors. On the doors there are massive carvings of dragons depicted in a multitude of battles and even peace. Alita concludes that it must be a history of sorts, and can only guess at the time period the carvings indicate.

The prince effortlessly pushes open one of the doors, leading Alita through. Their footsteps are muffles by a walk-worn carpet that leads all the way to the dais. On the dais sits a throne where a man is just standing up from. Kurthnaga leads Alita all the way to the steps of the dais where she stops. Going up those steps without permission would be a sign of disrespect, and Alita has no intention of pissing off one of the most powerful beings she has ever met.

While she waits, the king greets his son, exchanging a few hushed words. It seems to be a heated discussion, which Alita is tempted to listen in to fully. She caught bits and pieces that referred to her specifically, and then tuned out. She figures she might as well begin practicing her new guise.

As soon as the king finishes talking with Kurthnaga, he turns his attention on Alita. His face reveals nothing, set in straight lines. "Welcome to Goldoa." Alita bows her head, "Thank you."

"Goldoa rarely gets visitors. And in this time of war we believe said visitors are a breach upon our neutrality." Alita bites the inside of her cheek, wondering what the king is going to do with her for trespassing. "However, it appears that you were stranded in our land unknowingly. Due to this circumstance, I am prepared to make an exception." He watches Alita for a moment then nods, "Come here child."

Alita looks between the king and prince before walking up the steps to the throne, once she is standing before the king, he brings his hands down to rest upon her shoulders. "Kurthnaga tells me you have lost your memory, so this is probably all very new and disorienting for you. For that matter, I will allow you to stay here for as long as you need." Alita nods her understanding, feeling the warmth dissipate from her shoulders as the king takes his hands back, sitting back down.

"I will be keeping a close eye on you, as well as my son to monitor your improvement. And for that, I will be taking you with me to the meeting that will be held today." Alita bristles slightly at having to be watched all the time, but takes a breath to steady herself. "I wouldn't want to impose on your meeting..." she replies instead.

The king waves his hand dismissively. "You won't be imposing. But you will need a name. Do you have one?" Alita shakes her head, keeping up the pretense that she has lost all memory. "Then I will call you Nesela, is that satisfactory?" Alita notes that it's very similar to the raven king's name, finding it ironic under the circumstances. She nods anyway, deciding to use it. "Yes your majesty, that works."

"The meeting will be soon, but I want you to get something to eat and get dressed before hand. There should be clothing for you to wear back in your room." "Thank you Your Majesty" Alita nods, heading down the steps and to the doors. Outside the throne room, there is a servant waiting patiently for Alita. He motions for her to follow him, then begins leading her back to the room she woke up in. She takes this time to look around the hallways, taking note of everything that she passes and where it's located, creating an internal map should she ever need it.

Recognizing the door to her room, Alita moves past the servant and goes in. He indicates that he will be back later to show her back to the king, then leaves her to her own devices. Alita rolls her eyes a bit, moving to the covered tray sitting on one of the window ledges. She forgets everything but her stomach when she lifts the lid off the tray. Waiting for her to devour is a platter of food, boasting items that she has never seen before. Regardless of what it's supposed to be, Alita eats it all. A much better fare than the bread and cheese she had brought.

After her stomach had been satisfied, Alita washes up to get all the dirt and grime off of her before slipping into the dress that had been laid out for her. She curls her lip at having to wear a dress. _First thing I do when we get back, find where my clothes went._ Controlling her ire, Alita smooths the dress down once it's on, then takes care to braid her hair so its out of her way. The dress is sleeveless for the warmer climate, but has thick straps that converge into a modest cut. Alita finds that there is enough room for her to run in the dress if need be, and that the shimmering silver blends with her hair. She briefly wonders if the color choice was on purpose.

She finds her shoes, pulling those on instead of the slippers left out for her, then picks up the knife that was left with her belongings. Instead of strapping it to her thigh like she previously did, she fashions the strap into a belt, wrapping it around her waist and lets the knife hang behind one of her hips. Satisfied, Alita heads out of the room, greeted by the servant from before.

True to his word, he leads her back to the throne room, pushing the door open for her to enter. Alita makes her way back to the throne where the king and prince are already standing. They both turn to acknowledge her as she walks up, the prince motioning her to follow as they lead her through another doorway. This leads out into a courtyard that stretches roughly the same length of the throne room.

"You look great by the way" Kurthnaga smiles at Alita, coming to a stop with his father. Alita blinks in surprise from the compliment, but nods her thanks with a smile. The smile feels weird, alien. A gesture that Alita is no longer used to, but feels good about being able to use it again. She keeps it, questioning the distance.

"It's not far for us, so you will have to be carried." Staying true to her act, Alita visibly swallows. "Carried?"

By then the king and the prince are already transforming. A wash of purple, black and white light consumes the courtyard, encasing Alita in the glow of the transformation. The light spreads outward, stretching in tendrils before being pulled back to the center with a snap, accompanied by a flash of white and tremors through the ground.

Alita removes her arm that protected her eyes from the flash only to have them widen in awe. Two massive, ebony dragons have replaced the prince and king. A crown of horns circle their heads, each one tipped in gold to represent their royal lineage. The intricacy and amount of the gold lets Alita know which is the prince and which is the king. Both are standing on their hind-legs in the now overcrowded courtyard with their tails curled around their feet and their wings pressed against their backs. Alita has to crane her neck to be able to look up at them.

One of the towering beasts, the king, snaps his wings open and gives a powerful downward flap to lift into the air, giving Kurthnaga more room to move. At the sudden rush of wind, Alita is thrown backwards, tumbling head over heels at the force. She comes to a stop against the warm scales of Kurthnaga's tail, which he had curled around to halt her backward motion. Steadying herself against the appendage, Alita stands to face the prince. He has lowered himself to all fours, tilting his head back in an indication that she should climb on.

Alita gives the prince a skeptical look. "I'm pretty sure riding a laguz is rude..." He watches her with a patient, unwavering gaze, tilting his head back again. Alita sighs and walks over, checking once more to be sure before clambering up his shoulder onto his back. Mindful of the dress and the spikes along his spine, Alita manages to situate herself comfortably above his shoulders where she can hold onto said spikes.

Feeling Alita settle in, Kurthnaga rises up on his hind-legs before spreading his wings to push him into the air to join his father. Alita's stomach tumbles and drops, causing her to hold on tighter as Kurthnaga gains altitude. Once satisfied, he and the king turn towards their object and begin flying.

Alita's initial wariness wears off to the point where she is able to sit up and look about. She is exhilarated she can see for miles in every direction, locating towns and hamlets scattered through the country. The wind tugs and pushes at her based on the beat of Kurthnaga's wings, keeping her focused. She is also overcome with a sense of freedom and a sense of home, as if she were meant to be in the sky. The feeling stays with her, opening her up to the sensations around. She is so overcome with it that she closes her eyes and spreads her arms out, anchoring herself to Kurthnaga with only the strength in her legs.

Coming back to herself, Alita opens her eyes as the dragons bank to the right. They begin circling above a mass of ruins, some of the structures still intact, preparing for a landing. The king and prince pick separate areas to land, giving them enough space to do so. Kurthnaga leans down for Alita to slide off his back, transforming the moment shes off. She stands to the side and watches the transformation, rubbing the soreness she already feels in her thighs.

Back in his human form, the prince sends Alita a smile, then waves for her to follow. They both head over to where the king is standing on a raised platform. Kurthnaga stands to the left of his father, indicating that Alita should stand to his left in turn. Both of them look towards the entrance expectantly. Alita frowns in thought but turns to look through the archway as well. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up as roar reverberates across the plains.


	5. To Crash a Meeting

A/N: Alita is getting closer to finding out what she is. Have you guessed it?

Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Fire Emblem.

* * *

All attention is on the group of beasts running their way, particularly the massive red lion. When they reach the entrance way they slow down to a walk, the three retainers staying back as their king pads forward. Alita watches as the lion walks and transforms at the same time, sparks of red swirling around him as he does. Hind-legs form feet, the transformation working its way up to peel the lion away and reveal the man beneath. He walks the last few paces on human legs, bringing his right arm up to cross his chest, keeping it parallel to the ground. A greeting that the dragons return immediately.

His eyes flicker over to Alita in mild interest, taking note. While not immediately afraid, Alita plays to the guise she is wearing and takes a step back in, what she hopes looks like, fear. The lion man hums in thought, preparing to say something when he is interrupted by a screech.

Everyone looks up to acknowledge six birds circling. Alita watches as they bank to the left to circle once more, before lowering into the courtyard. The green hawk and heron change just before they land, floating a moment then touching down. Naesala follows moments after, completing the same maneuver the first two did. The other three birds remain in their laguz forms behind their respective kings.

Alita recognizes Reyson from when she stayed at Kilvas, and wonders why he is with the hawks now. Which draws her attention to the man beside Reyson, the one covered in scars. She makes him out to be the hawk king, the one the beorc were talking about regarding piracy. _He does kind of look like a pirate..._ Her lips twitch in amusement, but she quickly covers it up by stepping behind the two dragons, feigning intimidation.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. We're among friends," the dragon king glances down at Alita, feeling her presence behind him. "What happened to him?" she whispers in response, looking back up at the king.

"The price for a battle is not cheap young one, and I have been in many." The hawk king himself answers, looking at Alita curiously. She ducks her head in apology, noticing that they have all gotten closer. "I apologize for bringing it up."

"Who is this young one anyway? It's not like you to welcome strangers," the lion king muses. Stepping aside, the dragon king reveals Alita to the group of royals. "This is Nesela. She was found unconcious, and is without memory of what occurred so I have granted permission for her to stay for the time being."

"She's a pretty one, that's for sure," Naesala comments beckoning Alita over. "Come here a minute." Inwardly scoffing, Alita refuses by stepping behind the closest person, which this time happens to be the hawk king. He glances down as Alita hides behind him, crossing his arms with a snort. "Looks like you scared her, Naesala."

"He's only mad that a supposed servant got away, Tibarn. He's been searching for several days" Reyson waves offhandedly. _Several days...? How long was I swimming...?_ Alita frowns in thought, trying to recall how long the trip took. No matter how hard she tries, she can't discern how long she was in the water. Granted she did have moments of hallucination, so it's quite possible she lost time in those moments.

"The thief made a pact!" Naesala explodes in frustration, earning amusement from the others. Alita takes this moment to jab at Naesala, coming out from behind the hawk king.

"Why would you trust a thief's word? I thought they were without honor?"

"Most are, some aren't. It's not worth figuring out. But that is not what we came here to discuss" the dragon king steers the conversation back to the original objective. "If you will excuse me your majesties?" Alita bows her head to them, exiting the group by side stepping around the hawk king and the lion king. She leaves them to discuss whatever it was they came for, heading to a back entranceway. Outside the enclosure there is a copse of trees, including brush coating the ground.

Looking around to make sure she is actually alone and none of the retainers followed her, she yanks the knife she brought out of the sheath. In one swift movement, the closest tree is suddenly marked with a series of cuts, suffering from Alita's fury. Naesala had been wearing her knife. Her _father's_ knife. She was going to get it back. Now.

Taking a breath to center herself, Alita takes another look around, but this time really looking at what is there. Absently twirling her knife, she inspects the different bushes and trees that are fruit bearing. Finding a surprisingly wide variety, she begins collecting almost one of everything, smirking to find a certain fruit she was looking for, gleefully picking one that was still immature.

With a tray woven of grasses, her knife back in its sheath and the fruit sliced for consumption, Alita returns to where she had left the royals. They appeared to be at a standstill and Naesala was pacing separated from the larger group. That made it easier for her. Putting on a smile she walks over, "Would anyone like something to eat? I have a little bit of everything..."

"You found a sweet child my friend," the beast king compliments as he takes several pieces of fruit off the tray. Alita glances at the dragon king, who nods in response, selecting some slices for himself. "Yes, she is very sweet."

Alita hums to herself, making sure the kings in the group were fed first. Since the laguz still in their animal form were closer than Naesala, she takes the tray over to them and allows them to choose. Once they have been satisfied, Alita goes over to Naesala, ensuring the fruit she picked special for him is on display. "Would you like some?"

Naesala glances over, absently grabbing several pieces and continues to pace. Alita watches him eat the trap, holding the tray out again to see if he wants more. His lip curls slightly, but he takes a few more before waving her off. Satisfied that things are going as she planned, Alita goes back over to the group. "Would anyone like some more?" Laughing heartily, the beast king takes another and nods, "Thank you child." She smiles in response, looking to the others. They all decline, giving Alita the opportunity to leave. As she makes her way to the back entrance, she casts her gaze over at Naesala to find him watching her. If she hadn't been expecting it, his intense predatory look would have unnerved her.

Looking away quickly, Alita acts the prey by scurrying through the entrance back to the copse of trees. Arriving, she gives a little laugh to herself as she takes a seat to wait. The fruit in its immaturity can cause hallucinations and alter one's thinking, bringing out the base desires. However fully ripened it's perfectly safe. She had seen its effects once before, praising her luck on finding it here to use to her advantage.

She doesn't have to wait long, hearing him make his way to her. She looks down and pretends to play with the grass, keeping her ears trained on him. "What's the matter?" Alita pretends to jump at his voice, turning on her knees to face him. He comes to a stop just beside Alita, forcing her to crane her neck to look up at him. "Are they finished?" she asks in return.

"No" comes the scoff, "I needed a breather...and perhaps some fruit" he looks down at Alita. Inwardly Alita smiles, outwardly she hops up and runs over to the trees. "Really? What kind would you like?"

"It's a special one," he replies having come up behind her. Alita turns to face him, giving him a wide eyed look at his closeness. "A special one? You mean the one you had before?"

"No, it's one only something as sweet as you can give." His maneuvering backs Alita up against a tree, blocking her sight of everything but him and his outstretched wings. "I...I don't understand" Alita stutters, taking note of where the knife is on him, loosening hers in the sheath. "Come now Nesela, you're not that young. You know the workings of men and women" Naesala leans in closer, breathing in her scent. Alita shudders turning her head the side, "Please don't..."

"Now now Nesela, I'm not going to hurt you" he whispers against her neck, resting his hands on her shoulders. Alita closes her eyes partially, pulling her knife out all the way. While Naesala is otherwise occupied, Alita carefully relieves him of her fathers knife, replacing it with the one she had. Quickly her fathers knife goes into the sheath at her hip. "Please don't..." she whimpers out again, managing to work up some tears.

Naesala tsks and picks Alita up, rocketing into the sky to fly away. As thrilled as she is about flying, she keeps up her act by screaming as loud as she can. An answering roar and screech lets her know that the others have taken notice. Naesala curses, changing in mid air and shifting Alita from his arms to his talons. His speed increases, the downward rush of wind from his wings buffering Alita and hindering her struggles.

"Help! Somebody help! Make him stop!" Alita yells gasping as the two hawks that stayed in their laguz form attack Naesala. Unable to defend himself with his burden, Naesala drops Alita to retaliate.

Riding through the air was exhilarating, being carried off by a horny raven she could deal with, but free falling with nothing to help? Alita screams in true terror, tumbling head over heels in the air. Her stomach flips in time with her, lodging itself in her throat and cutting off her yells. Suddenly her descent halts by a pair of strong arms, forcing her stomach back down with a sharp intake of breath at the impact. It takes her a moment to orient herself, then Alita is wrapping her arms around him half feigned distress and half real relief.

Shivering, Alita hides her face against the chest of Tibarn, only realizing it's him from the dark green outlining the feather necklace he wears. The scent of brine, wind and male engulfs her, triggering something in the back of her mind, but at the moment she could care less. His scent relaxes her in addition to the gentle down beat of his wings. Vaguely she is aware that the movement has stopped only to be distracted by a wave of song. It washes over her, relaxing her further to the point where her heart returns to its normal rhythm.

"Are you alright?" Tibarn rumbles, gaining Alita's attention. She nods with a glance at him, carefully slipping out of his arms as he sets her down. "Yes... thank you."

"What happened?" groans Naesala from the ground several paces away. He is sitting and holding his head and looking around. Eventually he gets up as the situation is explained to him. Alita sighs softly to herself, schooling her face into apology to confess. "I think it was my fault..." Having everyone's attention, she continues, "I think it might have been the fruit he ate. There were some I was unfamiliar with but I still brought it out. I am so sorry. Please forgive me?"

"Well, no one is hurt and everything is back to normal. We will adjourn here" the dragon king gives the final word. Once it's decided, everyone is going their separate ways with Alita remaining with the Goldoans. She stays with them for about a week, studying the book she brought, and learning what she can from their extensive knowledge. When she insisted on leaving, Kurthnaga agreed to fly her over the mountains into Begnion, dropping her off at the base of them.

Back in her original attire and armed with her father's knife, Alita sets off for the Serenes Forest where she believes answers to her heritage hides.


	6. To Gain Ones Birthright

A/N: So here is the next installment~! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Fire Emblem

* * *

Everything is the same. It's murky, dull...lifeless. The heart and soul of the forest is now a void of nothingness. It hurts Alita to see something that used to be so vibrant shrouded in despair, and it starts to wear on her. She hasn't been able to discern the flow of time since shadow and mist coat everything, blocking out the sky, sun and moon. Climbing the trees that had enough hand and footholds didn't help either since others towered over. For all she knows, she could have been wandering for weeks. Alita thought she had a clear destination in mind, but with out any sort of marker or directional key she easily becomes lost.

In her wanderings Alita happens across a young woman one day. The woman was alone, from what Alita could tell, and looked slightly distressed. Her hair and wings match that of Reyson, and Alita wonders if they are related. She calls out to grab the heron's attention, moving further into the small clearing that the woman occupies. Startled the woman whirls around, eyes widening and tresses twirling in the movement. She murmurs something to herself that Alita doesn't quite catch, holding her hand over her mouth.

"Are you ok?" Alita asks again, walking a little closer to ensure she can hear whatever the woman has to say. She looks around as if looking for someone before turning her attention back to Alita. " _Who are you?_ " Alita pauses, recognizing the ancient tongue. She thought her knowledge of it would have dwindled away by now, but the lessons from her mother hold fast. "I'm Alita...What's your name?"

The heron woman studies Alita for a moment, trying to determine if she is friend or foe. " _I am Leanne. How do you know the ancient tongue? Are you laguz?_ " Alita nods then shrugs, "My mother taught me when I was younger. But, what are you doing here by yourself?" Leanne has no answer, except to launch into a story of what she can remember. Alita takes in everything, sorting through all the new information as it's revealed. Before she has time to piece the growing puzzle together, she is telling Leanne of her childhood and how she came to be where she is now. It's a freeing experience for Alita, something she did not expect, especially revealing her life story to a practical stranger. Yet, in that short amount of time, Alita feels as if her and Leanne have become good friends.

Later, distant sounds of fighting could be heard, getting closer with each passing minute. "We need to get away from here" Alita urges, quickly getting up and packing away the snacks they had been munching on. " _Will we make it?_ " Leanne questions, looking worriedly in the direction the sounds are coming from. "If not," Alita glances to the tree line Leanne is eyeing while pulling out her knife, "then I will protect you." Leanne looks from the knife to the conviction in Alita's face and nods. Grabbing her hand, Alita pulls Leanne into a sprint as they leave the small clearing and the fighting behind them.

To the girls' misfortune, they come up behind some enemy soldiers. Luckily they haven't been noticed yet, so Alita puts her finger to her lips in the sign for silence and starts backing away with Leanne. Just before the trees conceal them again, a grossly overweight man in clerical robes approach the soldiers and instantly spots the two. "There's one! Get that heron! Make sure no harm comes to her!" he points, the soldiers immediately following his line of sight. Cursing their luck, Alita takes Leanne's hand again and starts running back the way they had come from. Behind them Alita can hear the stomp of boots and the clatter of armor as the soldiers follow, only to be drowned out by the dull thunder of hooves.

Realizing the new threat, Alita and Leanne put on a burst of speed but are soon surrounded by the horsemen. Alita maneuvers Leanne behind her, holding her knife out in front. As soon as the first horseman charges, Alita meet him head on. She ducks under the horse's neck to avoid the swing of a sword, spinning so she doesn't get trampled and lashes out at the leg of the rider. He gives a yell of pain and makes to turn his horse around, but Alita is already engaged with the second who had charged right after the first.

This one goes to stab her with a lance, rearing back and thrusting forward with the weapon. Using the rider's forward momentum against him, Alita twists just enough to grab the lance and pull, effectively dislodging the rider from his horse. While the horse goes galloping off to safety, the rider rolls to his feet, hand still wrapped around the lance. Alita engages in a minor tug of war over the lance, carefully inching her way closer to the man. When he gives a particularly forceful tug Alita flows with it, unbalancing the man and sending him to his back. She follows him down with her knees against his chest, plunging her knife into his neck where the metal of helmet and breastplate separate.

Yanking her knife from the flesh a spurt of blood follows staining the earth. Alita pays no mind, grabbing the lance and turning to face the first rider as he charges at her again. Bracing herself, Alita plants her feet and widens her stance, aiming the lance at the riders groin. Instead, the blade bounces off one of the plates on his thigh and skids to his chest. She has to dodge another sword swipe, but manages to lodge the lance between two plates of his armor, pulling him from the horse. The horse gallops away like the other one did, and the rider is quicker to recover than the other.

Swiping his sword across his body the rider chops the pole of the lance, rendering it useless. Undeterred, Alita takes this chance to run at the man while he is distracted. He pulls the rest of the lance out as soon as Alita gets to him, turning it around to thrust at her. Surprised, Alita gets cut along her side before she can twist out of the way, crying out a the stinging burn. She doesn't have time to check the wound for the sword is already reaching for her.

Alita bends backwards to avoid the swing, gasping as her wound is stretched. Planting her hands on the ground, she flips backward and kicks up catching the rider under the chin. Satisfied with the grunt she hears Alita spins on her hands and kicks out her feet again, managing to know the rider to the side before standing up facing him. Reversing her grip on her knife, Alita lunges towards the rider, slashing across his side just behind the armor, going into a roll to get some distance from him. With a yell of rage the soldier attacks her, attempting to cleave her with his sword. Narrowing her eyes in disgust, Alita dodges to the side then springs at him. She wraps her legs around his neck while gripping his helm. As he staggers for balance, Alita quickly delves the knife into the back of his neck, twisting and pulling up for good measure.

As soon as she feels the body start to collapse, Alita pulls her knife out and jumps to the side. She hisses in pain at her side, pressing her hand to the wound as she looks around for Leanne. She sighs in relief to see her safe before catching movement out of the corner of her eye. Feeling the heat her mother's ring starts to give off, Alita knows that magic is building and it can only be aimed at one thing.

"Leanne! Look out!"

Too late Alita warns as Leanne is struck by the magic. Quickly making it over to Leanne, Alita checks her over only to find her unconscious. Relieved that it's nothing serious Alita looks around for the mage. Spotting movement again she sprints to the area, startling the man. Giving a feral snarl, Alita slits the man's throat, already heading back to Leanne before his body can hit the ground. Around that time, a group of foot soldiers show up flooding the area. Glaring as they arrive, Alita pulls out a vulnerary and clumsily splashes some on her wound, sipping a bit and puts it away. She shudders slightly to feel the wound tingle at the healing, then turns her attention to the soldiers.

Giving one last glance at Leanne to ensure she's ok, Alita unleashes her fury on the beorc soldiers. She used her speed to her advantage, weaving in and out of them, slashing at arms and legs. As tendons were cut, soldiers began dropping their swords or falling to the ground, unable to support the weight of weapon or body. Harsh pants escape Alita when she finishes the last soldier off, attempting to get her breath back. Her respite is short lived as another wave of soldiers show up, followed by the man from before.

"Come on girl, give it up" he sneers.

"Never!" Alita shouts, baring her teeth at him. "Have it your way" he grins maliciously, waving his hand in an order to attack. Alita is bombarded from all sides as she starts defending herself and Leanne. Blood and carnage fly as she relives one soldier after another of their lives. She is wounded in turn, her movements getting sluggish as she becomes exhausted. Just barely able to stand, Alita is rushed by two soldiers who take a hold of each of her arms. Unable to resist, she loses the grip on her knife and sags a bit, watching as the man walks over.

"That was a good performance. But nothing can stop me from getting what I want" he gloats, pacing in front of her. He waves again and several soldiers go over to Leanne, picking her up. "No!" Alita gasps and tries to struggle. She didn't care how tired or worn out she was, she just had to stop them from taking Leanne. "So you do have some fire left in you" the man grins, turning his attention back to Alita. "I'm sure I can find a use for you. Take her away" he waves the soldiers off, bending to pick up Alita's knife and tuck it in his belt.

Alita growls, trying to get her limbs to work, to do anything that might hinder the soldiers as they drag her along. Nothing helps, and the grip on her arms becomes bruising as the soldiers manhandle her through the forest. She doesn't know how long they drag her, but she ends up at an unused altar with a broken archway as the entrance. Inside, she is thrown to the ground unceremoniously and then bound. As soon as she is made immobile one of the soldiers takes his sword and bashes the hilt into her head, effectively knocking her out.

When Alita becomes aware again, the sounds of battle assault her ears. She can't tell how far away it is, only that it sounds right outside and it's doing nothing for the massive headache making itself known. Groaning Alita turns over, grunting at the stiffness in her limbs. She manages to get up into a sitting position just as her captor comes screeching in. "This is all your fault!" He puts a well placed kick in Alita's side, toppling her back over with a groan. "If it wasn't for you, those mercenaries would have never caught up and would still have that heron!" Another kick connects with her stomach, knocking her breath away. Gasping for air Alita turns a fiery glare towards her tormentor.

"It's not my fault you're incompetent" she wheezes and spits at him. The glob of saliva lands on one of his boots and Alita is satisfied to see his face begin to change colors, ending in an interesting mottled red and purple. "I'll just extract my losses from your flesh!" he growls, kicking Alita under the chin and snapping her head back. She hisses at the pain, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth from where she bit her tongue. Spitting again, Alita rolls back on her side and lets loose a scream of fury. That man will not survive the day, especially once she gets free.

With renewed determination, Alita forces herself back up into a sitting position and starts working on the bindings on her ankles. Her fingers refuse to cooperate, stiff from the lack of blood circulation and the chill of the forest. Despite her best efforts, the knots refuse to give and Alita releases another scream of frustration. Then she can hear the sounds of battle get closer. Thinking that someone might be able to hear her, she yells for anyone to help her. All she succeeded in doing is attracting a soldier who roughly gagged her. He's almost to the entranceway before stopping as if he forgot something. Then he turns around and marches back over to Alita, clubbing her head again. Alita immediately slumps over as blackness washes across her vision.

Alita comes to a second time that day with a pounding headache. Her fury at the man and his soldiers only adds to the throbbing dancing around her skull, and she hopes he is still somewhere nearby for her to mutilate. As soon as she groans in reaction to a particular spike, voices are made known in the area and getting closer to her. Unable to focus completely just yet, she kicks out with her feet at the presence she feels near her and is satisfied to hear a yelp.

Before she can register what's happening, someone has picked her up. Outraged she begins squirming and cursing the guy as best she can through the gag. His grip tightens on her, which only makes Alita believe she is being restrained and redoubles her efforts. Somehow his voice cuts through the fog of her mind in soothing waves. As her breathing comes under control the scent of brine and wind make itself known, and there's only one person Alita knows that smells like this. Looking up she is greeted with the sight of the hawk king, whose only focus is getting her over to the group.

Once Alita is set down, the bindings on her hands and feet are cut and she is able to rip the gag off. Rubbing circulation back into her limbs she looks around and notices the wind mage she fought before, along with the blue haired beorc that seems to be in charge, the hawk king and his retainers and other warriors she doesn't recognize. Spotting the flashes of gold and white, Alita ignores everything else and hurries over to Leanne to make sure no harm had befallen the heron.

"Leanne! Are you alright? They didn't hurt you did they?" She gives an airy, musical laugh as she shakes her head. "No, no. I'm fine. Ike here came just at the right time. I owe him, and you, my thanks." Alita shakes her head, "No thanks is needed." Leanne gives a little smile and nods again. Alita then looks around for Ike to see if he, or any of his group, found her knife. She is interrupted by the call of her name.

"Nesela?"

Turning around Alita sees both Reyson and Tibarn looking at her. Sighing softly to herself, she faces them. "My real name is Alita."

"So you got your memories back?"

"That's good news." Alita nods, "I think the wandering in the forest helped jolt the memory somehow." Taking this moment as they process the information, Alita slips away and finds Ike with some of his mercenaries. Going over to him she clears her throat to get his attention. "Did you get a knife from the fat man?" He takes a moment to process the request, then blinks in recognition. "Oh yeah, here." Alita takes the knife, the knot of worry finally releasing as she slips it back in the sheath on her side. "Thank you."

Ike doesn't get a chance to respond before Reyson and Leanne are leading everyone over to a large building cut out of a rock. They float up to the top of it and face each other across a chest. Alita's not sure what the chest is there for, but figures it must be part of what they are about to do. Leanne clasps her hands in a symbol of prayer, then Reyson holds his palms up as if beseeching before he starts singing. Leanne joins in soon after and their voices meld together so perfectly that it almost hurts the heart.

In response to their song, a golden light bursts forth from the chest and the two herons, spreading through the trees. Each thing the light touches becomes living again, turning the dull and murky forest into a vibrant and welcoming place. As soon as the light washes over Alita, she starts to feel weird. Looking around she notices that no one else is affected, so decides to leave the immediate area and be away from the group.

She manages to make it behind some trees before she starts coughing, and is surprised to see blood on her hand. Alarmed, Alita goes into another coughing fit before a wave of pain sends her to her knees. She grits her teeth and groans, refusing to cry out and ruin what the herons are doing. Ragged breaths escape Alita as she is released from the pain, body shaking in its wake. Almost immediately after another wave hits her and sends her to the ground, whimpering. Alita claws at the ground, the new sprung grass tearing in her grip as she fights the fire burning through her.

Vaguely Alita notices the singing has stopped, but is soon wracked with another coughing fit where more blood comes up. Moments go by as she regains her breath, and then her muscles seize up. As soon as they seize, they release and go through a series of spasms, eliciting an ear piercing scream from Alita as hot tears roll down her cheeks. Several pairs of feet surround her but she can't hear anything due to the ringing in her ears.

Unable to do anything but curl around herself, Alita shakes and trembles and claws at her clothes that now hurt to wear. Another scream is torn from her throat when the burning focuses into one point on her back. She can feel her skin bulge, slowly separating along an unknown seam. Blood begins to soak her shirt, making it cling to and choke the other wounds. Suddenly the appendages burst forth from her skin, tear through her shirt and snap open with a spray of blood, as if they have always been just under the skin.

Alita's vision starts to go spotty, threatening to black her out when a wave of cool energy washes over her. She sighs in relief, feeling the pain and fatigue cleansed and the gaping wounds knit themselves back together. Her muscles start responding to commands she gives them and she wipes her face of her weakness. She forces herself to stand, avoiding twisting and turning as much as possible. "Are you alright...?" comes the hesitant voice in the sudden silence. Alita looks up at the group that has surrounded her, all with different faces of shock or wonder. And they all keep looking back at what's behind her. Her wings.


	7. To Gain Ones Heritage

A/N: Here's the next part~ Did you guys guess right? I bet you did. :) Either way, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Fire Emblem.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Ike reiterates, watching Alita.

Alita glances over at Ike and grimaces at the movements when her shoulders pull. "Mist, heal her again," Ike waves at Alita prompting Mist to come closer. Alita takes note of the concern in the young girl's eyes before they close and her staff lights up. Another wave of cool energy engulfs Alita taking away the soreness and tenderness while leaving a slight tingling sensation at the base of her wings. When the healing finishes and fades away Alita shivers slightly then gives her wings a little shake, surprised to find that they feel as if they've been with her since the beginning.

"Why didn't you tell us you were laguz?" Ike questions as everyone else keeps quiet for now.

"Lethe and Mordecai knew" Alita scoffs, already tired of his interrogation. The sudden stillness of his army immediately gains Alita's attention, then she realizes what she said. "How do you know them?"

She blames the healing for her sudden carelessness and inwardly curses the fact that she gave them information. Vowing to stay away from clerics if they're going to muddle her mind, Alita turns a hard look on the group. "It doesn't matter how I know them."

"Then I guess it doesn't bother you to not know what you are" comes the taunt. "Soren?" Ike looks over to the windmage who is staring at Alita intensely, arms crossed in satisfaction. "How do you know what she is?"

"From my studies. I'll let you know later. But if she wants to know, then she needs to give us some information first."

Alita growls a bit, hands tightening into fists and wings pulling tight in tension. "And you think I need that information to continue my life?"

"Of course. It's what you've been living for. What you've been fighting for. You want to know what you are, where you came from and what you can do. You want to know your purpose." Soren explains having a slight upturn of his mouth, mocking. "You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you let this opportunity go."

"How do you know that I don't already know what I am?"

"If you did, you wouldn't still be standing there. Now, how do you know Lethe and Mordecai?"

Alita takes a breath to calm her self so she doesn't do something stupid. While some of the beorc weren't as bad as she thought, Soren is definitely not one of them. It rankles her to even have to consider answering his questions when she is still in the dark about so much. As soon as she can, she's getting as far away from him as possible.

"I'm the thief" is Alita's simple answer.

"The thief?" comes the droll response from Soren.

"Did I stutter?" Alita scowls, earning an arched brow in response which only makes her want to rip it off the mage's smug face.

"What thief Alita?" Ike interupts the staring match, earning her attention. She looks at him, briefly glancing at Soren then sighs. "Fine. I'm the thief that your horseman brought to the tavern in that port town," Alita starts, counting off on her fingers as she does. "The same one the hawks saw with Naesala that day," another finger gets tapped. "And the thief that Naesala was complaining about escaping." The last two points were directed at the hawks and Reyson before her attention turns back to the beorc.

"Wait, you escaped the crow castle?" Alita turns her attention to the hawks, the sandy hawk the one who spoke up. "Yes. How else did I make it to the king's meeting?"

"Now," Alita pins Soren with her stare, "it's your turn."

Soren studies her for a moment, face blank and impassive. The silence drags on, but Alita keeps her gaze locked with his, refusing to look away. She already had to lower herself below him once. This time she will make sure that she is the one on top instead. Finally he looks away with a roll of his eyes, but the small victory pleases Alita.

"You are an eagle."

"An eagle?" Alita raises an eyebrow, glancing back at her wings to take a look at them. "How do you know Soren?" Ike questions, taking another look at Alita as well. "Like I said before, my studies."

"That is too vague beorc mage," Tibarn's baritone cuts in. "We would like to know how as well." Alita snorts as Soren gives a long suffering sigh. "From old books. Only the ancient ones ever mentioned anything about eagle laguz." He looks over at Alita, eyes narrowing at her, "But what gives it away are the markings that appeared coupled with the coloring of her eyes and hair."

"Tibarn has the same colored eyes though," Mist points out in confusion. Another sigh escapes Soren as he rubs his forehead. "Golden eyes are signature in the raptor species, specifically royals. You don't see the crows or herons with them do you?" He scoffs and mutters to himself.

"There was a clan of falcons long ago whose leader had golden eyes" the darker hawk retainer offers. "That makes sense with the eyes..." Ike nods. "You mentioned my hair and markings" Alita regains their attention.

Grumbling Soren nods. "Yes, the silver of your hair indicates a white or transition into a white headed eagle. Those types were only mentioned a few times. And," here he pauses to glare at Ike who had his mouth open to speak. Instead he quickly closes it to allow Soren to finish. "And the markings are an indication of family, perhaps a particular lineage but there was no detail on what those were."

"Did it say where the eagles came from?" Reyson finally questions, having been quiet as he listened. Soren shakes his head, "Nothing specific. There was speculation that they could have migrated from beyond the Begnion and Daein borders, or that they were secluded to an island up north."

"At least you know now though, right Alita?" Mist smiles. Alita nods in agreement. She got at least this much. It's better than she had hoped for, and she's sure she can still get information from her father when she finds him. "There's one thing that just doesn't sit right," Soren chimes in. "All of these traits were suppressed. They weren't awakened until the song."

"So?" Alita scowls, crossing her arms. "So one of your parents had to be a beorc, I'm guessing your father. Unless of course it was a really strong spell placed on you, which I highly doubt since I didn't detect anything..."

"Soren!" Ike yells appalled.

Alita narrows her eyes, a growl building. "My father was a beorc, but my sire wasn't. Don't try to understand things you've only read about" Alita sneers before whipping around and stalking away. Her departure starts the return of the group to the main army. Thankfully the trek was short so Alita didn't have to talk to anyone else. The sandy hawk did make an attempt to come over, but was pulled back by the other to stay near Tibarn.

"So this is the one the princess was talking about." Alita looks over to see a child examining her. "I thought she was a beorc." "She was," replies Ike as he walks over to her, "but Reyson's song did something to awaken the laguz in her."

"I see. So what kind is she then?" Alita narrows her eyes as the child blatantly ignores her, speaking as if she weren't standing ten feet from her. "Eagle is what Soren said," Ike responds with a nod.

"Excuse me! If your little beorc self is dying to know something about me," Alita walks up to Ike and the child with a hand on her chest, "then I would suggest you ask me first instead of pretending like I don't exist. Understand?"

"Alita..."

The girl holds her hand up, cutting Ike off. "First, don't interrupt your betters. Second, you would do well to hold your tongue with me. You are standing in my country after all."

Out of spite, and instinct she didn't know she had, Alita flaps her wings to lift her up, hovering maybe a foot off of the ground. The girl narrows her eyes causing Alita to smirk in satisfaction. "As I recall, this continent is owned by no one. We just happen to here. So don't tell me you own it!" comes the withering snarl.

"Have you always been this disrespectful of your rulers or did this come with your new power?" Before she can change her mind or give anyone the opportunity to stop her, Alita drops to the ground taking the step needed to be in reach and slaps the girl across the face. Various warriors suddenly shift position, gripping their weapons more effectively. Alita ignores them, narrowing her eyes at the beorc before her. "You are not my ruler, and you are not my better. In fact, you are nothing to me but some pompous little girl who's never had to work for anything in her life. Don't expect me to help you in any way." Alita sneers and turns, making sure her wings hit the girl again before walking off. She's spent enough time with these beorc, it's time for her to begin her search again.

" _You're not leaving, are you?_ " Leanne's soft voice halts Alita's departure. Alita tilts her head to look at the heron, encouraging the woman to come over. "There's no point in staying." " _What if you stayed with us? I'm sure Tibarn wouldn't mind, and you need to get used to your wings_ " she points out, holding onto Alita's arm. Alita sighs, glancing up at the sky that's just barely able to peek through the canopy.

"I don't mind if she comes." Both women turn to see Tibarn walking up with his retainers and Reyson. "She's right you know. You do have to learn how to fight with wings now."

" _See?_ " She smiles at Alita. " _Now I won't have to worry over wondering where you are._ " Sighing again Alita nods. "Alright, but only because I need to learn how to live with the wings." " _Of course_ " she trills, laughing lightly. Alita shakes her head, but smiles at Leanne's antics, following the rest of them into the air. It takes her several tries to get the movement right, but she does manage to stay with the overall group.

When they reach the top of the canopy, Alita takes a moment to look over the now sea of green. It seems to stretch on forever and it gives her hope. Hope for what, she can't discern, but she enjoys the feeling. Alita is brought out of reverie by a caw, drawing her attention to two hawks and two herons. Tibarn is the only one, besides her, left in human form. Alita frowns slightly, then shakes her head. "I don't know how to do that."

"That's what I'm here for. Now, I want you to look within yourself," Alita raises her eyebrow at this but says nothing, "and find where your power inner animal, as it were. Once you find it, you essentially cloak yourself in it while molding it to shape yourself into an eagle."

Alita frowns but does what he says, closing her eyes to concentrate more. She takes stock of herself, searching within for some kind of spark or nuance that something is different. Briefly she wonders if mages go through this process, but continues her soul search. A couple times she comes across a nest of energy residing in her that seems new, but every time she tries to grab it, it's no longer there.

At first she thinks it's because she's not approaching it right. But then the more it eludes her, the more she starts to belive that it's them playing tricks on her. Annoyed, she turns her sparking gaze on Tibarn who's been patiently waiting for her. "Did you find it?"

"Maybe. It keeps disappearing" she grunts crossing her arms, hating to admit she couldn't do it. All he does is nod. "I thought it might happen, but wanted to see if you could do it on your own first. When we get back I'll get you a beaststone to jump start the process." Before she can respond, he's already waving her to follow and flying off after the group. Grumbling to herself Alita follows Tibarn as they begin their flight to the hawk island.


	8. To Stay True to Ones Self

A/N: So this has been a long time coming. After reading back over what my ten year younger self wrote, I just didn't feel it. It sounded super cliché and didn't really fit with how Alita has evolved now. So I struggled a bit with reshaping this particular sequence and ended up cutting out a lot of the original. But, I think this feels and flows a lot better. So without further ado, the next chapter!

* * *

Phoenicis is not what Alita expected. She had envisioned something similar to Kilvas since they are both islands and they both house bird folk. Instead, the hawk island has a brighter feel to it and is more open in the architecture. The castle and dwellings not built into the side of a cliff utilize a vast array of unobstructed openings that resemble entryways instead of windows with how large they are. Alita had commented on it upon her arrival, mentioning the vulnerability it posed only to be informed that the island is so well protected with the cliffs and ocean that the crows would be the only ones who might have a chance of inflitrating with out the king's knowledge.

It took Alita several weeks to get used to the concept of such invulnerability. During that time she was able to build up strength in her wings, if her barely concious arrival was any indication. Her exercises consisted of staying aloft for varying periods of time, which Janaff was always happy to accompany her during, or swimming through the surf using only her wings as propulsion, which Ulki typically oversaw. After a day of exercises Alita was usually too worn out to socialize so didn't see the herons or Tibarn, except maybe in passing on her way to her rooms or the kitchens.

Even if Alita ended up too exhausted to do much of anything in the beginning, she views her time with the hawks as one of the best she's had. Probably _the_ best if she's honest with herself, especially the development of friendships and other than friendship interests, which she is still trying to wrap her mind around. But most of all is the feeling of being home. She can't deny that this island and its people call to her in a way that the mainlanders and even the crows couldn't. Maybe it's the fact that she is part of the raptor group, or maybe her family lived off the sea like the hawks do and it's an integral part of her. Whatever it is, Alita doesn't want to lose it or the new family she has found as a result.

Regardless of her strength, or lack there of from before, now she is strong. She is strong and determined to best these hawks in their training games she is now ready for. Said hawks alert Alita to their presence by a gust of wind as they circle above before descending to the courtyard Alita is currently waiting in. She finds it odd to have this much flat space on such a hilly island, but Alita hasn't had the chance to explore anywhere else to see if the whole island is rolling or not.

Snorting Alita shakes her head at Janaff's acrobatic attempt to impress. If anything he only made a larger fool of himself by stumbling his landing in mid transformation. His mouth promptly eats dirt and his legs bend over him in a very scorpion-like position before they fall back down.

"Stop acting a fool" comments Ulki, walking over to the boulder Alita is seated on.

Completely ignoring Ulki, Janaff is already up with a grin on his face. "So, the hatchling becomes a nestling eh?"

In response, Alita snaps her right wing out knocking him in the face. The sandy hawk yelps as he takes several steps back and holds his nose protectively.

"You deserved that" Ulki declares, not even batting an eye.

"Besides, I didn't even hit you that hard," continues Alita, rolling her eyes at Janaff.

"Still uncalled for..." he pouts rubbing his nose. It's short lived as his grin returns. "Anyway~ today is your lucky day! You finally get to learn how to transform!"

This draws another snort from Alita. "Right. You've been telling me that for a while now."

"But it's true! This time I swear!"

"I'll believe it when it happens" Alita sighs while hopping off the boulder. "Now what are we doing today?"

"You didn't tell her yet?" Everyone turns to see Tibarn landing with Reyson. "I thought I told you to let her know." His words are accompanied with an arched brow and crossing of the arms at Janaff.

"He has been letting her know. For the past month or so. She doesn't believe him" Ulki promptly replies, pinning Janaff with a cutting glance of his own. The hawk in question has he decency to look sheepish.

Tibarn lets out a long suffering sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Well, doesn't matter," he waves it off turning to Alita. "We're going to get you to transform using this." He holds out his hand where an unsuspecting, cinnabar stained stone sits. Alita looks at the stone in question, frowning at how dull and lifeless it looks. "With that?" She looks back up at the king. "A dull river-stone?" She expected more.

An eruption of laughter ensues causing Alita to frown harder. "What's so funny?" Her frown starts hardening into something more volatile when they don't answer. They only laugh harder, eliciting a growl from Alita as she snatches the stone from Tibarn's hand. "Seriously, it's just-" Before she can finish there is a bright flash of light and she feels the stone heating. As soon as it appears the light vanishes, dropping Alita to the ground, which she didn't know she had left, with an indignant squawk.

"A river rock indeed..." chuckles Tibarn, a grin spread across his face and twinkle in his eye. Alita is sure her face would be flushed from embarrassment if it could, and because of that she promises revenge. Specifically in some fashion to make him look like a fool. She caws in a retort while righting herself, fluffing her wings only once from the indignation, then snaps her right one out at Janaff again. His laughter is suddenly cut off in a gasp that morphs into a wheeze when contact is made to his delicate bits. His mouth open and closes a couple times before he decides against it and just waves that he's fine. Alita watches with satisfaction as he carefully wobbles over to the bench near the boulder she had perched on.

"Smoother than I thought it was going to be. Good" nods Tibarn, fully composed as he circles Alita. His close scrutiny starts to irritate her and she ruffles her feathers again to express her annoyance. Is her beast form not good enough? After all the training she's done, is she still inadequate when compared to Ulki or Janaff? Just another trinket for a pirate to hoard?

The sudden wave of hurt takes her by surprise, having not realized just how attached she is to this place and its people, but especially how much she seeks Tibarn's approval. If she is good in his eyes, then she finally has a place to belong, which the possibility of not makes his perusal hurt even more. Almost immediately the hurt is blotted out by an all consuming rage. She refuses to be another conquest, another rarity to be put on display as a power play in a game of politics, both laguz and beorc. She will not, _will not_ , fall into a hole by become some weak thing dependent on the praise and acceptance of others. She will forge her own path, find her own answers and locate her own place to live. No more trying to fit in.

As soon as the king starts another round Alita snaps out with her beak and catches him on his thigh, tearing cloth and skin while drawing blood. His reaction is an immediate back hand across her face, whipping her head har enough to cause her to stumble. She should have seen that coming, should have counted on him retaliating in some fashion. But her anger is blinding. Alita is already turning and extending her wing, making sure to hit Tibarn as hard as she can before giving a loud and piercing screech of defiance.

The look Tibarn pins her with is all molten amber with a glow that seems to get brighter the longer he looks at her. If looks had power, that one would have melted her on the spot. Alita screeches again, raising the pitch of it slightly to deter Ulki, who stops his advance to hold his ears with a wince. Janaff keeps coming, but Alita doesn't plan on being caught.

With a powerful downward stroke of her wings Alita launches into the air, tearing two hefty clumps of weed and dirt. On the second downbeat she releases the debris, the draft pushing it earthward harder and incidentally pelting the hawks while blinding them for mere moments. Moments enough to give Alita time to gain altitude and speed off. She debates briefly on whether to grab her bag or not, her most valuable items she carries with her at all times. The only thing of value left in her rooms would be the book she stole from Kilvas. She ultimately decides to retrieve it, having gone through too much to just leave it behind, so banks to the right in the direction of the hall.

The only warning Alita gets is a slight shift in the wind pattern when she is broadsided by the bulky frame of the king. The impact sends her careening away, struggling to right herself in the out of control spiral. A brief moment of panic swells before instincts enable her to recover. As soon as she does she is hit from the other side and sent tumbling through the air again. A screech of frustration erupts from her as she falls fueling her ire. Instead of struggling to stop though, she manuevers herself into a dive to gain speed. Roughly a tree length away from the ground, Alita snaps her wings over and dips changing the angle of the feathers just enough to rocket her way back into the sky. It's something shes been practicing in her human form and is ecstatic to see her hard work and practice pay off.

At the apex of her ascension Alita banks left to drop a little and level out. Then she is pumping her wings hard to build up speed, heading back towards Tibarn. She screeches out her intent receiving a warning caw in return. She ignores the warning. She collides with the hawk, talons grasping at talons and feathers, wings beating against bodies and beaks snapping at eyes. It's exhausting and painful since he is not only bigger and stronger, but more experienced. Even if she is currently lacking in those areas, if there's one thing Alita is, it's crafty.

Alita suddenly stops fighting, going limp except for her grip on his talons. The extra dead weight pulls Tibarn down, forcing him to work harder to stay aloft. In his momentary distraction Alita swipes her talons across his chest to leverage herself enough for a launch away from him, speeding off towards the ocean. Forget the book. Leanne will keep it for her.

He calls after her, no doubt giving chase. Alita would be more surprised if he didn't come after her. She did out right attack him after all. She puts on another burst of speed entering into cooler, grittier air. Glancing down confirms she is over water, which seems to stretch on forever. Flashes of silver catch her attention and she cocks her head to the side for a better look. She glides around the area studying the vigorous churning of water that's drawing seagulls over. Alita realizes it's a school of fish and suddenly she is eager to test her fishing skills.

Before she can Alita is swamped with pain, eliciting a cry from her. It radiates from the center point of her back, right between her wings. Tibarn has attacked her from above, his talons digging into the tender joints. His momentum not only knocks her off balance but plummets them to the sea in an out of control spiral. She tries to right herself, or even just twist away from him, but whatever he hit has number her wings momentarily.

They hit the water like a slap, scattering the fish and dazing Alita in the process. She manages to take a breath before they sink beneath the surface. Unable to hold onto her form any longer Alita transforms back, the stone still clutched in her hand. She pockets the stone and flaps away from Tibarn while he goes through his transformation, a fluid effortlessness honed by decades of experience. Before he even fully regains his shape he reaches for her, snagging at clothing to pull her back.

Alita works harder to get away, both kicking and flapping, but the water presses around her like honey and he has a firmer grip on her now that he's fully humanoid again. He jerks her towards him, her shoulder popping at the force of it. The stab of pain pulls a grunt from Alita as she glares at the king before her. Tibarn ignores her look, and her for the most part, as he propels them upward to the surface. Alita gnashes her teeth as she is dragged, but helps swim since her chest is beginning to burn with the lack of oxygen. She is not going to pass out and allow him to take her back. She is leaving, one way or another.

They break the surface with an outward splash, continuing up so they are no longer in the water. Alita takes a large gasps of air, chest heaving slightly. She flips her hair out of her face and tugs on her arm for Tibarn to release her. "Let go." He refuses, tightening his grip as he pulls her to him again, this time securing her against him with his other arm wrapped around her like iron. She growls in the back of her throat struggling against him before she is surprised by his sudden and fierce kiss.

No! She bites his lip hard enough to draw blood causing him to pull back with a hiss which frees up some space for her. She takes the opportunity to follow up her bite with a strong right hook to his jaw. It's enough to get him to let her go. "Such anger... I wonder what I did to deserve it?" muses Tibarn as he licks his split lip and rubs his jaw looking at her.

"I am not some prize or piece of meat," Alita growls in response. "I don't care who you are or what you've done for me if that's all you're going to see me as. And as such, I will be leaving" she bites out.

"You're not a piece of meat or a prize Alita" Tibarn calmly explains. She raises an eyebrow at this. "Oh really? Then what was all of that circling you were doing?"

He blinks perplexed before realizations dawns. "That? I was checking to make sure you were in one proper piece. There have been times before where someone would grab the stone carelessly and the force of the transformation so suddenly left them...not right. I simply wanted to ensure you were you. When you bit me I thought you had gone mad, that the transformation addled your mind. I'm glad to see that is not the case."

Alita frowns at the explanation, mulling over the possibilities of what happened to those other people. She supposes that in that sense, he was trying to protect her or at least ensure her safety. Maybe she did act a little rashly, but that doesn't excuse him or his lack of explanation. She narrows her eyes on him again. "And what about the kiss?"

Tibarn hums a bit, his eyes getting an extra gleam to them as his lips turn up in a satisfied smirk. "That? Well... you're a very strong willed and spirited person, Alita. Someone who knows what they want and is not afraid of going after it. Couple that with how fierce you can be...well..." he shrugs in nonchalance, "It makes for a heady concoction of attraction. Not to mention the added benefit of reciprocation."

Alita scoffs crossing her arms. He is so full of himself! As if he knows all about her and her desires. "Tch, whatever you say. I'm still leaving." She tilts her head up a bit in defiance. There is no way she can stay any longer now knowing his intentions towards her. As much as she might like to act on them, and she most definitely will given the right circumstances now that that barrier between them is broken, she has family to find and a heritage to discover. Anything else can wait until after.

"If that's what you want. You were always free to go. At the very least, stay tonight to rest and recover. You can stock up on rations as well." She pauses on briefly before she nods her consent and starts following him back to the island. It would be a folly to refuse such survival necessities with the long journey ahead of her.


End file.
